Meandering

No bird photos to show, just some images of my day:

Now here's a bit of history about this particular picture. I tried to find the sign that used to be here, but in its place is a water playground.
Anyway, many years ago, I read a book called "Follow the River". It is about a pioneer woman named Mary Draper Ingalls who lived with her husband and two young boys in what is now Virginia. (The Blue Ridge mountains)
Shawnee Indians raided her village in 1755, killed most of the men and women, and captured Mary, her children (and she was pregnant at the time), her sister-in-law and one man. The natives took them to their village in Kentucky, and their route was the New River to the Ohio River. Mary gave birth along the way, and it was said that the Indians were impressed with her strength. She lived in their village for, I believe, a few months. During a trip to a salt lick (Big Bone Lick) to gather salt, Mary escaped with a Dutch woman, leaving her boys, sister-in-law and baby girl behind with an Indian woman who had lost her own baby.
Mary and the Dutch woman walked 1000 miles back to Draper's Meadows, in Virginia....from Kentucky. It took so long because neither of the women could swim, so when they encountered a tributary (of which there were many), they would have to walk up the tributary until they could find a shallow place to cross. This trip was made from the beginning of October well into November. The women survived by eating berries when they could find them, and when winter came, they ate tree bark and grubs found under the bark. Eventually, the womens' clothes disintegrated and their shoes were lost. Mary and the Dutch woman were separated when the Dutch woman, wild with hunger, tried to kill Mary for food. Mary arrived back at her home, skeletal, frozen and all of her hair had turned white.
Over a period of many years, she and her husband had more children, and actually found one of their sons living with the Shawnee and bartered to have him returned. Her sister-in-law was also returned after many years. The baby girl and the younger son were never found.
So where does the above picture come into this? Across the Ohio from where I was standing, Mary and the Dutch woman passed on their way back to Virginia.
Cool, huh?

I'm getting tired of just seeing my yard birds/ Why it pays to go to Starbucks

The girls had a snow day today (when the local school district is on a delay, the preschool just cancels class). I had a doctor's appointment, so the girls got to tag along. Nothing serious...just my foot again. (For those of you new to my blog, see this post for a not-so-brief history of my foot troubles)
I needed new orthotics, since mine are about 2 years old, and I have the beginnings of arthritis in some more joints.

I caught Isabelle in mid-frappuchino swipe.

They're cute. And they're mine.

After the appointment, we browsed Miami-Whitewater Forest. It was very, very quiet.

We spooked a great blue heron...

...and I watched in barely restrained anger while house sparrows bickered in a purple martin house.

And now, some yard birds again...yawn. A northern mockingbird in the cherry tree...

...a female cardinal samples the berries...

...a male rests on the fence...

...the goldfinch that got away...

...a junco with a messy face...

...and another male cardinal sits droopy-winged.

I am going to give it another go tomorrow and find a new birding spot. Cross your fingers and wish me luck...that I don't find any stray animals.
Why it pays to go to Starbucks:
The other day on the way to a program, I stopped at the only drive-thru Starbucks in the area. The worker who helped me is one that I have seen before, and we have had mild small talk in the past. That day, she peered into my car and said, "I hope you don't mind me asking...what are in those boxes in your car?"
I said, "A screech owl, a great horned owl and a peregrine falcon."
It was priceless...she went all bug-eyed and yelled to all the other workers, "Hey! She has OWLS in her car!!!!"
Every worker in the store came over to look. I explained my work with RAPTOR, Inc. and that I was on my way to a program. She said that her son's class would love something like that and asked me if I had a card. I do, thanks to Marc, our president, so I handed one over. She said that she had a conference with the teacher later in the week and would pass it along.
So, I might just get another program out of going to Starbucks. See, Geoff! Starbucks is a GOOD thing!
Update: Please welcome Mon@rch to my blogroll!

No good deed goes unpunished

First, some pictures from yesterday:

I never dreamed that a red-bellied woodpecker could be so feisty. This one was not happy that the starlings were trying to eat HIS suet. Look at that posture! I would be scared off, if I was a starling.

A fluff photo...goose feet.

...and a grinning goat. Sounds like a good name for a English pub, eh? In fact, I think Geoff and I ate at one called that on our honeymoon. :)

I love song sparrows, for their subtle beauty. A lot of color for a "little brown job".

I routinely hang grapes in our cherry tree (the cherries that grow on it disappear about 2 days after they arrive).

A robin samples some fallen fruit from the crabapple tree.

I think this is one of my absolute favorite bird pictures. The goldfinch on the right looks like he is saying "Ooooooo". Imagine how birds would look if they had lips...just wondering.

Carolina wrens are very good at camoflage. This one blends in so well with our sleeping little blue stem.

I stopped at RAPTOR yesterday with the girls to do some well-needed organizing to my education box. Junior was there, of course. I waved the net at him (he hates it when it is anybody else's hands) but he was neither impressed or frightened. Damn.

Today's birding excursion was at Indian Creek Wildlife Area. It was disappointing, though. Not because of the site, because it has amazing potential. It was the snow, covered with a thin film of ice. I sounded like I was walking through potato chips. Hard to sneak up on a bird that way.

It's managed for hunting and fishing, but open year-round for wildlife observation. It was quiet (except for my crunching), since it's not hunting season.

Someone explain this to me. I know that they are targets...

...but what does this mean? If you hit the turkey in the ass, you get a prize?

I did see a red-headed woodpecker...not a great shot, and not a life bird, but they are hard to find and beautiful. That, and the only other bird of note was a hermit thrush. No life birds today.

But I did find a dog.
HEY! Hear me out!
When I pulled into the parking lot, this big, friendly black lab bounded up to me. He was hungry, but not starved. I gave him all that I had (a stale cookie from one of the car seats) and went on my walk. The loop doubles back to the other end of the parking lot, and he was waiting.
I drove around to the few houses in the area, but no one recognized him. And every single person said that "people dump their dogs off there all the time".
WTF??? I hate people sometimes.
I called Geoff and he Googled the closest shelter, and I drove the dog there and dropped him off. And my day of birding turned into a drive through western Brown County
with a strange dog.
I was not about to take him home. I have learned that lesson. (Famous last words, huh?)
Speaking of dogs...Boomer is still here. We are running out of options. I refuse to put him back into the shelter system, the few offers I received were very far away, and one even offered to pay to have him flown to Pennsylvania. Nice, but I don't feel comfortable shipping Boomer off to strangers. Soooo...if nothing comes up in the next day or so, I will try a local pet store that sometimes accepts dogs. (They almost took Lulu, until they saw that she was part pit bull.)
The cats are suffering in the basement. You can't keep five cats in a limited space like this and it not affect them. They are fighting and unhappy. The girls don't spend much time down here with me, and they miss their kitties.
So, as the title says, no good deed goes unpunished.

Thinking about tomorrow

Tomorrow, both of the girls are in school, so I have free-Mommy-birding time.
I am browsing Cincinnati Birds for any new, CLOSE, gravel-pit free birding hot spots.


The gravel pit issue is my newest pet peeve. I am drafting a letter to the Enquirer's Forum section, but that's not enough. What can birders do when a prime area is in danger? Can we go against a whole town?

Didn't take any good photos today...but I feel the need to post every night, even if there's nothing to talk about.

Snow, and the snuffles

I am in the middle of my annual cold. I don't get sick very often, maybe once or twice a year. I was raised in an era that didn't make my parents feel guilty for not disinfecting any and all surfaces that I came in contact with. My immune system gets lots of practice.

We finally got some snow that is worth taking photos of.

We used the snow stick that Lorelei made in school to see how much snow we got. Not quite 4 inches.

A flock of maybe 30 robins visited the yard, eating the fruits off the crabapple tree. I only see birds eating these when it's really cold or snowy.

Since I rarely get sick, the girls thought it was a treat and tended to me. Isabelle called herself "Dr. Isabelle" and told Lorelei she could be "Nurse Lorelei".
Lorelei took my temperature with a stick from her princess kit...about 20 times.
And all of her stuffed animals became bandages. Anything she could find, became a medical tool.
Bless her pointed little head.

The girls have been crazy waiting for snow. Geoff and I dressed them and set them free outside.
Snow angels:

...and the chickadees were too hungry to care that Isabelle was so close to the feeders. If you look close, you can see one sitting on the green feeder.

The snow made the dogs goofy, too. What is it about snow that turns dogs into little hyenas?

While the girls were in the front yard, Boomer made sure that he kept a close eye on them...

...even while Isabelle threw snowballs at me outside the window.

Geoff. God love him. He cleared the entire driveway by himself.
We have a looooong driveway.

Lorelei made a few snow angels in the snow before Geoff could clear it all.

"Here I come, Daddy!"

Part of the rest of the afternoon was spent making cupcakes with the girls.
Confetti cupcakes, with vanilla icing and M&M's. Yummmm....

"I helping!"
I will be taking my Nyquil soon, and hopefully it doesn't kick in as I am leaving comments on other blogs.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

I ventured out to a new birding spot today.
A few miles from our house, I spotted a turkey vulture sitting across from our favorite Italian restaurant, eating a deer carcass. I assume THAT wasn't on the menu.

This photo is for Rondeau Ric...a Tim Hortons...

...and it was on Mon@rch Lane.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

On the way to this hot birding spot, I passed a gravel pit and saw this bird...at first glance, I thought it might be a immature bald eagle.
Nope...a dark morph red-tailed hawk.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Know what that sound is? My head hitting my desk. Repeatedly.
I went to turn around (I was not trying to trespass...I swear on the life of my blog...), lost sight of the hard surface, and found myself in about two feet of wet sand.

It wasn't just my tires. The frame of the car was sitting in the sand.
Thud.

I assumed that under the sand, there must be a hard surface.
Thud.

I called our car insurance "roadside assistance" people. After I told them where I was, they told me that our policy wouldn't cover a tow truck because I was too far from the road.
THUD.

Here's part of the rut that the car left behind.
I am getting a headache from all this thudding.
I wasted a very large chunk of the afternoon in this quagmire, and sped off after paying the tow truck driver (he used a winch, and when I told my father-in-law, he asked, "How did SHE get you out?) Sigh.
And Geoff was not a happy camper about this, let me tell ya.

I only had about an hour of daylight left.
The boardwalk into these awesome wetlands was closed due to the high water.
Sigh.

Look! I found a stage where the ducks can put on shows!

The Ohio Wildlife folks have put up some groovy feeders here! These were about 5 feet long.

Walking in the woods alone doesn't bother me, until I start thinking too hard.
I found a pile of white fur off the path...then found this chunk of white and brown fur a few feet away. White-tailed deer? And what ripped it out? I ruled out owls (too small to eat a whole deer), and thought suddenly, "Oh! I bet it was coyotes."
And the next thought: "Time to go. Now."
I hope our lovely Science Chimp chimes in on this one.

And this looks very much like a Wood Thrush, but it's more streaky than spotted. And no eye ring. And the tails too long... And aren't they supposed to be south right now? Anyone want to give it a try?

I will definitely be going back to this place. It reminded me of Magee Marsh.
And I am never going into a gravel pit again.
Thud.
P.S. We are in for a real winter day tomorrow...a "snowy mix" as the newfolks say. A few inches of snow and maybe a bit of sleet.
And here in Cincinnati, that can only mean one thing to the minds of the public:
"We are all going to die!"